RI Senate passes 'good time' bill 32-2

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - Rhode Island lawmakers passed the 'good time bill' Tuesday in the Senate.

The bill was introduced by Sen. V. Susan Sosnowski and supported by the Rhode Island Attorney General's office.

“I am overjoyed the Senate has supported this bill, ” said Senator Sosnowski. “I hope it garners the support in the House to fully ensure that criminals who are convicted of violent crimes face the full consequences of their actions. This needs to be the standard in the state of Rhode Island.”

Under the new bill , inmates who are serving one or more terms for murder, kidnapping of a minor, first degree sexual assault, or first or second degree child molestation, will not be allowed to earn time off their sentences for good behavior.

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“I applaud the Senate for passing this important legislation. I thank Senators Sosnowski, McCaffrey, Felag, Goodwin and Ruggerio for introducing this bill on my behalf, as well as the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee who voted to bring it before the full Senate. I also thank the Foreman family for their tireless advocacy to ensure that other families do not have to suffer the pain they have experienced in losing a child or loved one," Attorney General Peter Kilmartin said in a news release to Eyewitness News.

The bill is also strongly supported by the Foreman family of South Kingstown. John Foreman's 5-year-old son Jason was brutally murdered by convicted child killer Michael Woodmansee in 1975.

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While in prison, Woodmansee earned enough 'good time' credits to be released 12 years early.

Woodmansee is now receiving treatment at Slater Hospital.

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The bill now heads to the House for a vote. If passed, the law would go into effect on July 1, 2012.

The law would only apply to prisoners’ awarded good time credits after that date.